While you were busy making a difference in your home town, you might have missed these thought-provoking posts: Holiday Customer Service: 7 Tips Retailers Should Not Ignore – Retail Minded Craft Beer’s Big Impact on Small Towns and Forgotten Neighborhoods – Curbed 6 Urban Projects Built Thanks to Online Civic Engagement – CitizenLab How to … More The District Digest Vol. 2 – Downtown Ideas to Put to Work
The Downtown Lynchburg Association (DLA) knows how to lift up their community. Right now they’re raising awareness of the hardworking entrepreneurs who, with their own hands, are making downtown the destination for local shopping. Our guest blogger, DLA Executive Director Ashley Kershner, gives us the goods. As part of our overall marketing strategy this year, … More Downtown Lynchburg: Where the Makers Are
Virginia Main Street has opened the application process for our first ever Commercial District Affiliate Grants! Affiliate Grants are designed to assist organizations and communities in achieving their downtown revitalization goals and be used for projects or planning purposes. The maximum grant amount is $7,000 and can be used for… non-profit organizational development; vision/mission development; … More VMS Commercial District Affiliate Grants Now Available!
The Ashland Main Street Association and its local partners are dedicated to making downtown an amazing destination. How? By embracing their transportation history they are improving the visitor experience and creating memorable central gathering spaces. Executive Director Tom Wulf is our guest blogger with the details. Earlier in 2017, mural artist Ed Trask and … More The Destination Express: Enhancing the Visitor Experience with History
On October 24, 26 and November 8 in St. Paul, Franklin, and Ashland, the fall edition of the Regional Rev Up workshops will equip your Main Street program with the tools you need to develop events that add up to meaningful change. When taking on a special event or festival, what guides your allocation of … More Start With “Why”: Creating Purpose-driven Special Events
While you were busy making a difference in your home town, you might have missed these thought-provoking posts: Top 10 Reasons to Support Your Locally Owned Businesses – Institute for Local Self-Reliance 4 Easy Steps to Squash the “There’s No Parking” Argument – Strong Towns How to Design a Pedestrian Mall That Works – Governing … More The District Digest Vol. 1 – Downtown Ideas to Put to Work
Preservation Virginia is excited to co-host the Virginia Preservation Conference alongside the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in Petersburg, Virginia on Friday, October 6 at Union Train Station! This year, they invite you to “Explore the Value of Partnerships” happening between organizations in the private and public sector that strengthen Virginia’s communities. You’ll get to … More Explore the Value of Partnerships at the 2017 Virginia Preservation Conference
Warrenton has earned more than 25 years of wisdom as a Virginia Main Street Designated Community. In 2017, their Main Street program celebrated a reboot, a new “booster club” and mantra: Experience Old Town Warrenton. To get there, the first thing the community leaders did was invite all stakeholders to be proactive participants in the … More The Heart of the Revitalization Process: Community Engagement
In my Virginia Main Street wanderings and conversations with directors I’ve been hearing a common refrain – “What should our Economic Vitality committee be doing?” A thought provoking question that I am sure goes unasked more often than asked. As fate would have it I recently participated in a Hillary Greenberg webinar on supporting small businesses … More Five Things your Economic Vitality Committee can do Today to Support Downtown
What can your Main Street program do to make downtown more of a destination for locals and visitors? Would a punch list of key actions be helpful? With today’s market, Main Street communities are happily positioned for a resurgence. As a Main Street advocate, having a plan to ride that wave and make your downtown … More Practical, Low-cost Ideas to Make Your Downtown A Destination
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